Shoe-fastener



Patented May 9,1899. G. S. WEBBER.

SHOE FASTENER.

(Application filed Apr. 15, 1897.) (No Model.)

' rg wj ww UNITED STATES PATENT C FicE.

GEORGE S. VVEBBER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHOE-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 624,586, dated May 9, 1899.

Application filed, April 15, 1897. serial No. 632.219. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE S. WEBBER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Shoe-Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the construction of fastenings wherein the separable edges of the article to be closed or clamped by the fastening are provided with longitudinally-extending engaging shoulders or sockets forming a guide or run way fora sliding clasp, and while my improvement is intended for use more especially in shoe-fastenings it may be employed in other connections, as fastenin gs for gloves or other articles, wherever its use may be found desirable.

- My object is to provide guides or engaging shoulders each formed of a continuous length of wire bent to afford securing-eyes at more or less close intervals and practically smooth and continuous guiding and engaging edges, whereby the guides or engaging shoulders are rendered strong, durable, and easy to apply, as well as flexible, and therefore comfortable to the wearer of the shoe or other article to which they are applied.

In the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of a shoe provided with my improvement, but showing two ways of preventing the slide from becoming detached when the shoe is unfasten ed Fig. 3, a broken perspective view of the shoe, showing the slide nearly closed and bent over to expose one form of securing means for holding'the slide up when the shoe is fastened; Fig. 4, an exaggerated section taken on line 4 of Fig. 8; and Fig. 5, an enlarged broken perspective View of my improvement, showing my improved bent wire guide or shoulder.

A A are guide pieces or shoulders fastened upon the outer surface of the upper 13 of the shoe, on opposite sides of a slit t therein and preferably parallel with the edges of the slit. The guide-pieces A are each formed of a continuous length of thin metal wire bent to afford attaching-eyes s, curved shanks s, and free edge portions 8 The shank portions 8' are formed by doubling the length of wire upon itself, the bends formed in doubling being expanded to produce the eyes 5. Between the shanks the wire extends straight to afford 8 The eyes, shanks, and shoulders form a substantially continuous socket-piece. The guide-pieces A are fastened to the shoe-upper by sewing them at the edges.

- I is a slide, which may be of leather, soft rubber, or other flexible material. Guidepieces A, like those described, are sewed against the under side of the slide. The guide piec'es upon the shoe-upper are so fastened that the sockets which they afford face outward, while the guide-pieces, which are fastened to the slide, are so placed that the shoulders which they aiford face toward each other.

In use the slide is drawn down to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, permitting the shoe-upper to be opened at the slit and the foot to be inserted into the shoe. The shoe is fastened by drawing the slide upward, causing the guides A on the slide, which fit into the guides on the shoe-upper, as shown in Fig. 4, todraw the meeting edges of the upper toward'each other.

Any suitable means may be provided to secure the slide when closed-as, for instance,

the usual buttons 1' and sockets r, or, as shown in Fig. 3, hooks q and eyes or staples q may be employed for this purpose.- Provision may be made for preventing the withdrawal of the slide, such as a loop n, which is engaged by shoulders 19 of the slide, or the latter may have shoulders m, which engage buttons m.

The gist of my invention lies in the construction of the guides A A, and any suitable means may be employedto fasten the slide when it is drawn up and to prevent the slide from being pulled out when it'is drawn down.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

' In a shoe-fastening of the character described, guides for the upper and slide, each of which consists of a single continuouslength of flexible wirebent toform lower eyes 8, curved shanks s, and the practically continu- S. WEB-BER.

I a substantially continuous edge or shoulder ous projecting guide edges 5 substantially 

